Black Leaders Encourage Students

They came to talk about family and careers, and about respect, pride, community involvement and the need for an education.

But the 20 members of 100 Black Men of Broward County Inc. who spent Friday morning at Dillard High School during its Panther Renaissance/Pride Career Fest did not come to preach.

``That`s not our purpose here today,`` attorney Charles Cherry II said as he stood before a ninth-grade class. ``We understand that you don`t need that right now.``

Friday marked the first time the civic organization has sent members to Dillard.

High school administrators said they hope it is not the last.

``We`re very glad that they could come here today,`` assistant principal Dennis Jackson said. ``They are a very diversified group of professionals and laymen with a valuable message.``

Of special importance to the students was the fact that several of the speakers are Dillard graduates, Jackson said.

``They are proof that there are resources here that students can use to get ahead,`` he said.

``Many of these men, especially those who went to this school, came from this neighborhood. Some came from neighborhoods that are even worse than this one. They can look at students and say, `I made it and so can you` if you`re willing to work hard and use the resources that are available to you.``

Friday`s speakers did not sugar-coat their messages.

``They say the best way to hide information from a black man is to put it in a book and put that book in the library because he`ll never find it,`` Roger Gill told one class.

``How many of you go to the library without being told to?`` he asked.

When only a few students raised their hands, he nodded.

``You are going to have to change your ways,`` said Gill, an employee of the Urban League of Broward County.

Like many of the students he spoke to, Gill was not born in the United States.

``It can be very confusing coming here,`` the native of Trinidad said. ``When I was a child they told me the streets in this country were paved with gold.

``When I got here I found that the streets aren`t paved with gold, but they are paved with opportunities if you have the education to take advantage of them,`` Gill said.

Cherry, meanwhile, told students that if they do not learn to read they ``can kiss any hope for success in this society goodbye.``

Teachers said they appreciated the time the speakers gave to their classes.

``It`s always good to bring in a non-teacher because they validate what we are telling the students,`` teacher Kenneth Malone said.

Students also gave high marks to the program.

``I was glad they came because students need to see more African-American men who are successful,`` senior Pamela Moore said. ``We always hear about all the black men in prison; it was good to see black men who are positive role models.``